KAJAMA.COM NEWSLETTER

by Carole Hyder

On one of our walks last week, my friend Julie and I were discussing big picture outcomes in many facets of our lives. It's good to have someone who doesn't confine you to parameters but lets you soar into near oblivion with ideas, what-ifs, why-nots, so-whats. She provides the net so I can do some daring trapeze leaps without getting hurt. I trust I do the same for her.

Along the way as we were reaching up pretty high with our dreams, she paraphrased a quote that Steve Jobs said at the Stanford Commencement address. I went home, looked it up, and found it to be at the basis of effective and powerful Feng Shui.

You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something: your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. Because believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart, even when it leads you off the well-worn path. - Steve Jobs, Stanford Commencement Adress, 2005

Feng Shui is not only about helping people thrive where they are and be fulfilled in their present situation, it's perhaps more importantly about helping people set up their space so that it pulls them into the future - into the life they've always wanted. The hard part here is to be able to access the dream about their ultimate life experience, not just concentrate on the next step out of context with the big picture.

Below are some ways to help you dream bigger so you can change your home into the life you've always wanted.

• • Don't plan on thinking about your ideal life; you have to create it. In other words, you need to dance it out, or paint it, or make a vision board. From these activities, you'll capture the feelings that will let you know where your heart wants you to go.
  • Don't ask how you're ever going to arrive at your dream life or start to second-guess the process. (This will never happen. What is wrong with me?) Truthfully, how it's going to unfold isn't any of your business. Your job is to create it.
  • Don't use friends or family as a sounding board unless, like my friend Julie, they provide you the net to do all the spins and twirls you're inclined to try, won't rain on your parade, burst your bubble, or laugh in disbelief.

• Don't let the dream stay in your heart - write it down! Anchor it into physical reality. This is important because
  you won't forget the details of your dream; you can tweak it from there; and you must make sure it's what you want.
• Don't forget to implement the dream in your Feng Shui adjustments. As you infuse the physical adjustments you make in your space with your ultimate dream, you will see how your home or your office will gently but steadily move you forward. Some steps will be huge, while others will be almost negligible. Either way, you're connecting the dots to the expansive and fulfilling life you are meant to experience.

I doubt Steve Jobs knew about Feng Shui. (On the other hand, who knows?) However, he did know about dreaming big. He started with the end in mind and worked backwards. So did Edison. So did Ford. Working backwards is different from going backwards. Get your dream out there, make it even bigger, and then work backwards as you move forward.

The above article is printed here with the author's permission. Carole J. Hyder has accomplished international success as a Feng Shui consultant, speaker, teacher, author, trainer and media personality. She has been a Feng Shui consultant since 1992. She is the author of numerous books, CDs, DVDs and courses. Carole is founder, president, and an instructor of the Wind and Water School of Feng Shui, licensed by the Minnesota Office of Higher Education. The program is available both as a correspondence class or in a classroom setting. For more information on Carole's work, visit her website, carolehyder.com.

Are there different interpretations for different tarot decks? In other words, if I look at the same card in a Sacred Rose and a Ryder Waite deck, are there different meanings for that same card?

J.

Susyn:

The Tarot is an extremely versatile divination tool. A single card in and of itself can be interpreted in many different ways. Because the illustrations and themes of each Tarot deck vary, readers can extract many different messages from them.

Keep in mind that reading the Tarot is subject to not only the deck one uses but an individual's unique psychic abilities as well. Though each card has a basic meaning, additional interpretations will begin to develop as students advance their skills and knowledge.

The Sacred Rose and Ryder-Waite decks are both traditional forms of the Tarot consisting of 78 images that outline the journey to self-actualization and spiritual attainment. There are other decks that vary in images and interpretations, but for the two decks you mentioned, the symbolic illustrations on each card convey the same basic message.

Keep in mind that the meaning of a card will change based on the question being asked as well as the other cards shown around it. For example, if you are asking about a love relationship and the Lovers, the Two of Rods, the Three of Rods and the Hierophant appear, they could be interpreted as a promising union (The Lovers), with a possible proposal (Two of Rods), and advise that the querant wait for things to develop (Three of Rods) in a traditional manner (The Hierophant).

However, in a health reading, these same cards would take on a different meaning. The Lovers would then indicate overall balance in the body, while the Two of Rods would suggest that the querant is seeking an answer to a specific problem. The combination of the Three of Rods and the Hierophant suggest that they need to seek advice from an expert such as a medical doctor or holistic practitioner.

So as you can see, not only do illustrations vary from deck to deck, but the same cards in the same deck can take on different meanings depending on the question asked. This makes Tarot one of the most powerful divination tools available. Most of the many Tarot decks on the market offer similar versions of traditional images. Because of this, you can choose a deck you are intuitively drawn to based on its illustrations and themes and still receive a consistent, reliable reading.

If you would like to learn more about Tarot and how to extract more in-depth answers and direction from the cards, I encourage you to sign up for my beginnerís or advanced Tarot classes, which are available in the products section of my profile at Kajama.

*****

Mata:

Tarot cards weren't originally designed for divination but for playing card games; in fact, a typical deck of playing cards can be used for divination just like tarot cards can. The meaning of the cards is therefore not inherent to them but attributed to them by the person doing the reading.

Of course, over the centuries, the cards have taken on certain general meanings as the practice of divination was handed down to generations of students and explained in various books. Further, the cards depict some powerful symbols with universal meanings. For example, one has only to look at The Tower card to guess that it suggests ill fortune.

Since you're using the cards to create a language of symbols through which to communicate with your own higher self, subconscious mind, and/or metaphysical guides, the important thing is that this language work for you.

This is true of all symbolic psychic work. For example, to you seeing a cross may represent a cross-roads, while to someone else, it may signify religion and to yet another person, suffering. As the source of your psychic information will know that a cross represents a crossroads to you, when you are receiving psychic impressions clairvoyantly, you will be shown a cross when crossroads is being communicated, and something else to represent suffering and religion.

The same is true when working with tarot. When certain information is indicated, whatever card you associate with that information will come up for you.

There are two main approaches to reading tarot. One is to study the classical interpretations. This can take many years since each card has a slightly different nuance depending on the subject at hand, and can mean different things when in different positions in a spread. The second approach is intuitive: one ponders the pictures on the cards and allows the images depicted to suggest answers.

Long-time students of tarot quickly develop their own language, which is usually a combination of learned interpretations and those they have attributed to the cards.

Some decks vary slightly on the classic Ryder-Waite while others differ dramatically in terms of themes and images. The more different a deck is from the one you first learned on, the harder it will be to switch decks unless you are employing an entirely spontaneous, intuitive approach. For this reason, it's wise to spend a good amount of time developing a relationship with a new deck before using it to read for others.

Astrea:

Many times in life we hear, "You will always have what you NEED, but not necessarily what you WANT." Your spirit must have needed to experience the feeling of leaving your human body, and the suggestion in the next chapter of Sylvia Brown's book was all it took to get you there.

Even though you hadn't read it yet, your SOUL recognized the title of that chapter as something it had been seeking, and your soul, knowing that you had that reference to read after your experience, got with it and out you went!

While I don't usually recommend her books, Sylvia Brown has a wide reaching and powerful effect on lots of people. A Gemini like you would be able to relate easily to her writing and put it to good use. Synchronicity - you gotta love it!

I like your description of "getting caught." That's exactly what it feels like, isn't it? One minute you're free and hovering above the room, and the next minute, ZAP! back down into your corporeal form you go!

As a little kid, I loved that "feeling of return." With practice, most of the time we can control that event, but sometimes, when our physical ears hear a distracting noise or something else occurs to knock us back into reality, back we go. With practice you will be able to control your return better.

I find it interesting that you were visiting your mother-in-law and not someone in your own genetic family. Evidently, you and your husband got married for reasons that are even deeper than love. His family's interest in "psychic stuff" will nurture your children in such matters and help them to grow into their own abilities.

You'll never have to be concerned that when your daughter visits them, she'll be discouraged from exploring her own psychic life and power. My parents encouraged me to develop my psychic senses in a time when it wasn't nice to even discuss such things in public. Heck, it's STILL not considered a great topic at the dinner table in some families!

Your kids will get to talk about it ALL and ask questions and read and study. This is going to give them such an edge in life! Talk with your husband about how you want to present this to your kiddos, so that you are united in your approach and ready to tell them their experiences are all natural and okay.

A word or two of warning: Geminis often have difficulty staying grounded in REAL LIFE. Don't get so strung out on your ASTRAL life that you neglect what you're doing here on Earth.

You are at the beginning of a long journey to learn where your power really lies. Try to be patient with this process and take your time.